Gospel

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Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors

No passage in the old testament teaches us so much about the death and the resurrection o f the Lord Jesus Christ as this revelation from Isaiah the prophet. Written over 8-00 years before the birth of the Lord, its accuracy is remarkable.

Verse 3 tells us how he was despised and rejected by men later this was fulfilled a s we are told, ’He came to His own but His own received him not. John 1:11

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Matt21:42

Verse 4 and 5 He took our infirmities…we are told ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, John 1:29
Paul said, ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him’ 2Cor.5:21
The bruising, crushing, piercing, oppression and punishment were confirmed by the scourging, battering and brokenness Jesus experienced. It is also revealed that Jesus did not just die for our sins but also took our sicknesses and diseases as he hung on that cross.

And so we can come not only for forgiveness of sin but also for our healing. How marvellous. Jesus brought us peace with God. He broke the middle wall of partition. He reconciled us to God. He made us who were hitherto enemies of God, children and friends of God. Jesus is our peace.

Verse 7 reminds us of the events leading up to the crucifixion when He was being questioned and he gave no reply.

8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" John 19:8-10

Verse 8 speaks of His death. ’he was cut off from the land of the living..’ it also tell us that it he died for others, ‘for the transgression of my people’ you and I.

Verse 9 alludes to the two thieves he was hung with and how after he died a rich man volunteered to bury him in the grave hewn out of stone, a preserve of the rich.

57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. Matt 27:57-61

verse 10 tells us that it was the determined will of god to crush Him. In other words, God was in Christ reconciling Himself with man. Jesus Himself said he was laying down His life voluntarily as the Good Shepherd would do for his sheep.
The will of the Father prospered in the hands of Jesus as He fulfilled it. Through that perfect sacrifice He justified many, as many as received Him. The Father saw the glorious light that the life of Jesus ignited and was satisfied. It was worth it.
And through knowing Him many are justified v11


Verse 12 tells us again that He was numbered among the transgressors as in v9
In verse 12 we see hear the Father promising Jesus the Prize for the price, the supreme sacrifice, the shedding of the blood of eternal covenant.
Paul tell us that because Jesus humbled himself to die the death on the cross, God gave Him a name above every other name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father. In Hebrews we are also told that Jesus for the joy set before Him, endured the cross. That joy was the prospect of you and I coming to know Him as Lord and Saviour.
2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.Heb.12:2-3
What a prophetic insight from Isaiah. This same prophet said in chapter 55:10-11

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. Jer.1:12



From the foregoing, we can be sure that whatever promises God has made, not a jot or tittle of them will fall to the ground. His promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. He is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should, repent, renege or recant in what He has promised.

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